Process of manufacture of hats.



- or red and blue, these colors being 50 bath of dye compo UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WOODBURY MARTIN, OF HAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO EMMONSBROS. COMPANY, OF HAVEBHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, .A CGBPORATION OFMASSACHUSETTS.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURE OF HATS.

No Drawing.

Patented Aug. 27, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM WOODBURY MARTIN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Haverhill, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts,have invented a certain new and? useful Improvement in Processes ofManufacture of Hats, of which the following is a specification.

The object of the present invention is a process of making a felt hatfor'wear either by men or women, having a surface the color of which ischangeable or iridescent. A hat made in accordance with my new process,when completed, shows two colors or tones, according to the way in whichthe light strikes it, in very much the same manner as-a piece ofchangeable silk woven from threads of two colors shows the two differentcolors according to the position of the silk inthe light-. In themanufacture of hats in accordance with my process I do not employ fibersof two or more different colors but dye all the fibers comprising thefelt uniformly. The hat made by my novel process also is of a uniformcolor throughout the body of the felt composing the hat, and, therefore,in the process of manufacture may be pounced or polished vigorouslywithout danger of removing a surface coating.

rious comlfinationsv of colors may be employed, as for instance, greenand brown, chosen in shades which harmonize well with each other.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description,and the novel features thereof are pointed out and clearly defined inthe claims at the close of this specification.

.The process embodying my invention is as follows: I take an ordinarypartly felted white wool bat, which is in a very loose and softcondition and is very open and porous. The bat in this condition'is thenplaced in a sed of two or more colors of such a chenucalxcharacter thatthey do not unite with. each other to produce a -.single shade, but onthe other hand tend to separate-when mixed; Such dyes are known a hathaving in the arts and commerce and are sometimes called eosin orfluorescent colors.

After the two colors are made up in proper manner and. mechanicallymixed, the bat is immersed? inthis bath. Being loose and soft the dyepenetrates completely. The bat is then placed in afelting mill andfelted to size. The pounding to which the bat is subjected when beingfelted improves the color of the finished hat having an important effectthereon as well as on the texture of the felt composing the hat. Afterbeing removed from the felting mill, the hat is dried. At this time, thehat has the appearance of having been dyed with a solid color having thegeneral tone of the predominant color used in the dye, but being dullandmuddy, only the slightest appearance of the secondary color beingvisible.-

The hat is then pounced and'buifed with sand paper. This operation hasthe effect of removing the curly fibers of the felt from the surface andstraightening out and laying parallel with each other the fibersremaining on the surface and of polishing them. During this operationthe secondary color begins to appear so that it is distinctly visible ifthe hat is turned in the light. The pouncing or polishing operation maybe carriedon as vigorously as necessary without danger of injuring orchanging the color or tone of the surface. Thereafter the hat issubjected to steam ressure to fasten the polish in the well linownmanner. It may then be st-iifened and is then flanged or shaped andagain polished to give' to the surface of the hat the highest possibleluster. The final polishing and finishing brings out the secondary colorvery distinctly so that the hat appears to have two distinct colors, thepredominant color being visible where the light strikes the hat stronglyand the secondary color being apparently visible in the shady portionswhere the light is less strong.

If, for instance, it is desired to roduce changeable shades 0 green andbrown, t e dyeing is performed as follows :-To 400 gallons of Water isadded, 4 oz. 9% pwt. formyl violet 4 B. F., 34. oz. 141} pwt. naphtholyellow -S., 5 oz. rosazein B., 20 lbs: Glauber salts. Thepigpgxrtions ofthe colors may be varied accor is t particular effect which it isdesired to produce. The materials are thoroughly mixed, 100 lbs. of thepartially felted White hat bodies are placed in the bath which is thenbrought to the boiling point. After boilin for three quarters of anhour, 3 lbs. of oi of vitriohare added, and the boiling continued for anhour and a half longer. Theliquor is then drained off and the hat bodiesare allowed to cool. After this, they are placed in the felting machinesand the feltin completed as previously described.

at I claim-is:

1. The process of making a hat having an iridescent a pearance whichconsists in dyeing a partially felted wool bat in a bath composed of twoor more fluorescent colors,

felting "the bat 'and then pouncing and in a bath composed of two ormore colors which separate, felting the bat and then polishing the hatto bring out the separate colors and give the surface a glossyappearance and steaming the hat to set the polish. In testimony whereofI aifix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

' WILLIAM WOODBURYVMARTIN. Witnesses:

HENRY P. EMMONS,

W. FRANK HARRIS.

